Contrabands in Cumberland, Virginia

The photo makes you wonder “Who are these people?” “How did they live?” “What happened after they were freed?” “Did they go to the North or to the West?” “Or did they stay in the South?” Freedom to people who had been enslaved all their lives, was a foreign notion that left more questions then answers.

Contrabands in Cumberland, Virginia, (1862). What do you see when looking at these contraband slaves posed in front of “Foller’s house?”

The house is probably the residence of their former owner. The photograph was taken in 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign by photographer James F. Gibson, who may have had the same fascination with enslaved blacks as the rest of the people in the North. ”

The so-called “contrabands” (enslaved blacks within Union lines prior to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863) were more than a curiosity however. They also posed a real problem to whites in general and the Union army in particular as to what to do with them.

Up to this point in the war, the Union had not fully committed its forces to the idea of the Civil War as a war to end slavery, but rather to a limited war to preserve the Union.

Slaves, on the other hand, forced the issue by seeking out the Union forces in droves, looking for protection, and offering their services to the army that would one day free them permanently.

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About our museum

The Lest We Forget Museum of Slavery provides a unique historical perspective into the reality of slavery for Africans brought to America. It is the only museum of its kind in Philadelphia that exhibits authentic slavery artifacts. LWFSM tears the scab of mystery and shame off the subject of SLAVERY and shines light on the enduring spirit of our African American ancestors and the contributions they have made in the building of America.